Delhi Pollution Is a Cause for Major Concern: Nitin Gadkari
An Indian minister Nitin Gadkari emphasized on the imperative of comprehensive and coordinated efforts to free the National Capital Delhi from water and air pollution. He said Thursday that pollution levels of Delhi is a cause for major concern and that a plan has been prepared to address this critical issue with the help of all stakeholders.
While extending all possible support for the development of Delhi, he urged all stakeholders to join hands and work on war footing to make Delhi free of water and air pollution.
In the 2018 Environmental Performance Index – released by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities in collaboration with the World Economic Forum – India falls at a poor rank of 177 in a list of 180 countries. Worse, India’s Environmental Health rank is 180 and Air Quality rank is 178.
[ Pollution Shortens Lifespan of Delhi Residents by Over 10 Years ]
An interactive tool on the Breathe Life 2030 website shows a Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 level of 143 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean) in India’s capital New Delhi. This is over 14 times over the WHO safe level of 10 µg/m3.
Simply put, the people of Delhi are inhaling poison from the air. Air pollution levels get so severe that many residents regularly wear masks and authorities resort to emergency measures such as banning construction and shutting schools. But most Indians ignore government orders and pollution activities continue.
According to The Economist, this polluted environment does not just make life unpleasant for a lot of Indians, but it kills them. Recent estimates put the annual death toll from breathing PM 2.5 alone at 1.2 million to 2.2 million a year. The lifespan of Delhi-dwellers is shortened by more than ten years, says the University of Chicago.
Photo courtesy: Press Information Bureau
